Association of Change Ringers No. 138 APRIL 2015 Southern District NEWSLETTER

st. augustine, Thorpe bay The church and tower are of brick construction and The bells were donated by Albert Mitchell and Frank were completed in the mid 1930s, so one of the newest Lufkin’s advice was sought as to the number and churches in our District. About 5 miles east of Southend, weight. Frank’s view was ‘Heavy enough to make them the imposing church is situated on an island at the delightful to listen to and sufficiently handy for ringers junction of Johnstone Road and St. Augustine’s Avenue. to learn and ring.’ Following installation in 1947, the The church had few neighbours when built and was bells were rung by the Prittlewell band. The first peal surrounded mainly by fields. Today the church stands at was ring in March 1949, half-muffled to the memory the heart of the parish and dominates the surrounding of Albert Mitchell. There are 8 bells with a 16cwt tenor. residential area that was developed around it. On its Practice night is Wednesday, so feel free to visit. For website it says it has a “cheerful neo-gothic interior”. information contact Steve Halliwell on 01702 549047. Contacts Master Deputy Master Secretary Treasurer EDUCATION Nigel Taylor Hilary Donoghue Alison Nash Mark Robbins OFFICER (Downham) (Downham) (North Ockendon) (South Weald) Steve Nash 10 Teignmouth Drive, 16 Norsey Close 2 Woodview, 6 West Way, (Fobbing and Langdon Rayleigh, Essex, CM11 1AP Langdon Hills, Brentwood Hills) SS6 9PF. Tel: 07540 066789 Essex SS16 6TZ Essex CM14 4PB 2 Woodview, Tel: 01268783792 s-district-deputymaster@ Tel: 01268 490061 01277 234345 Langdon Hills, Mob: 07825810847 eacr.org.uk s-district-secretary@ mark@southweald. Essex SS16 6TZ s-district-master@ eacr.org.uk org.uk Tel: 01268 490061 eacr.org.uk [email protected] - 1 - next district meeting A Triples Training Day The Striking Competition this year At St Thomas’, Brentwood we have a particularly good ring of eight bells. is being held at Navestock Regrettably, however, all eight are seldom rung for method ringing because (CM4 1EX) on Saturday 16th May. our local band lacks the expertise. So towards the end of last year we The draw will take place at 5pm. decided to start trying to learn Plain Bob Triples and occasionally tried our hand at Grandsire. Once a month we held a special Service ring Names for teas to Pattie Folkson before Evensong when, with some other learners from Shenfield and on 01277 374389 by Wednesday Ingatestone and help from some experienced ringers, we embarked on 13th May. the learning process. If you are putting forward a One of the helpers was Steve Nash, District Education Officer, who kindly band please contact Alison Nash, offered to organize a special training day for us that duly took place on District Secretary, on 01268 14 March. Steve arranged for a two hour morning session at Stanford-le- 490061 or on 07526 417787 (by Hope and a further two hours at Fobbing in the afternoon. We had 4 or text if you prefer) or by email on 5 learner/improvers and a maximum of 10 helpers during the day. [email protected]. The morning session kicked off with a bit of theory - such things as getting the right speed when ringing on eight, knowing the order of work, knowing your course bell, where you pass the treble, and other pointers to help the ringer keep in place. It was a very worthwhile exercise. Having got that learners’ practices under our belts it was time to ring - plain courses at first before introducing The next Learners’ Practice at a few bobs to muddle the order and confuse rope-sight (this it managed to South Ockendon will be on the do quite successfully)! Most of us managed the plain courses OK albeit we 2nd May 10am to 12 noon. would not have won prizes for some the striking! If you have not been before then After lunch we headed off to Fobbing. By this time we were down to 3 or now is the time to try something 4 learners and 8 helpers. More plain courses followed and plenty of mini- new and don’t forget we always touches. After an hour and a half the helpers had been ringing practically need helpers. without a break so we had an early finish. All of learners had gained in confidence during the sessions and were very appreciative of the help so generously given. Our special thanks must go to Steve for organizing the district 8-bell day on our behalf. The following evening, back in Brentwood, we put our training into practice and had a successful Service ring before Evensong on surprise Mothering Sunday. It certainly whetted the appetite to ring on eight bells so practice we may yet ask for another day on Grandsire triples later in the year. 7.30pm 7th May 2015 Chris Bailey (Brentwood) St Peter’s South Weald. Cambridge and Yorkshire will be rung at all practices, along with other methods announced by Grants Sub-Committee – Proposal for Minor Works Assistance the Master. All able and aspiring The Essex Association of Change Ringers award grants to bell restoration surprise ringers welcome. projects. Under the present system, grant applications are made in advance of works being carried out, and are paid after the granting of a faculty and satisfactory completion of the works. Leigh-on-Sea and Christina Brewster – who sits on the Grants Sub-Committee – proposed a Eastwood Practices grant aid scheme for minor works, such as replacement pulleys and minor repairs. Rings of bells can become difficult to ring, simply because of a lack of Over the last couple of months, routine maintenance ( I recently rang a tower where one of the bells was quite because of lack of ‘home’ ringers, difficult to ring, and all because of a heavily worn pulley); Christina’s proposal we have resurrected the monthly was to provide a simple and relatively rapid means of procuring a small grant joint practice, first tried many towards routine maintenance. No faculty is required (in most cases at least) years ago but which faltered at the for minor repairs, and the Grants-Sub Committee would have the authority to time because of people using it as issue grants for minor works, without the requirement of approval from the an excuse for a night off! management committee. It is the FIRST Thursday each The proposal was discussed at length during the February Management month, with EVEN months being Meeting, and should be approved in due course. at Eastwood and ODD months Grant aid is not provided for bell-ropes, with either grant aid scheme. being at Leigh. Visitors welcome at either Eastwood or Leigh on that Nigel Taylor first Thursday. Peter Knight

- 2 - farewell RINGING ACHIEVEMENTS At the end of May we say farewell to Ian and Maria Jorysz CONGRATULATIONS TO... who are moving north as Ian takes up his new appointment Samuel Beech for being invited to ring with the Essex Young Ringers as Senior Chaplain to the Bishop who practise at Writtle of Manchester. Many of us have had great enjoyment ringing Anne Porter for her first in method at Eastwood on Saturday, with Ian and Maria, and we 14 February - 1296 Cambridge Surprise Minor hope they will keep in touch. 1 Alan Gisby 2 Gordon Lucas 3 Anne Porter We wish them all the best in 4 Cathryn Corns 5 David Belcham 6 David Sloman (C) their new home. Barbara Leigh for her first of minor at Rayleigh on Sunday, If you have changed your 22 February - 1260 Plain Bob Minor email address within the last 1 Barbara Leigh 2 David Belcham 3 Lydia Roberts 12 months can you please 4 Alan Gisby 5 Cathryn Corns (C) 6 Nicholas Allen inform Alison Nash, District Secretary, at alison1nash@ and Barbara again for her first of triples at South Weald on Saturday, yahoo.co.uk, on 01268 490061, 18 April - 1260 Plain Bob Minor Triples as part of the Quarter Peal Day or text on 07526 417787 asap. 1 Barbara Leigh 2 Julia Jones 3 Beth Johnson It is imperative that the District 4 Penny Sloman 5 Maria Jorysz 6 Mark Robbins Officers email lists are kept up 7 John Harpole (C) 8 Raymond G Jones to date so that we can contact you at a moments notice. Alwyn Brock for her first in minor, and Stephen Nash for his 1,200th quarter, at Langdon Hills on Sunday, 1 March – 1260 Plain Bob Minor 1 Alwyn Brock 2 David Belcham 3 Cathryn Corns NEWSLETTERS 4 Alan Gisby 5 Stephen Nash 6 Andrew Martin (C) Please send any reports, pictures, notices etc., to Beth Johnson at Paul Wiggins for his first quarter of Grandsire and Chris Bailey for his [email protected], 150th quarter at Shenfield on Sunday, 8 March – 01277 205102 or post to 67 London 720 Grandsire, 540 Plain Bob Doubles Road Brentwood CM14 4NN. 1 John Church 2 Beth Johnson 3 David Reed 4 Paul Wiggins 5 Ray Jones (C) 6 Chris Bailey Newsletters are distributed at the end of Feb, April, August, October, and December – copy date for each Dion Laycock for his first quarter of minor at South Weald on Sunday, on the 15th of the month. 29 March - 1260 Plain Bob Minor Copies are sent to Tower 1 Dion Laycock 2 Ros Skipper 3 Mark Robbins Correspondents, preferably by 4 Maria Jorysz 5 Ian Jorysz (C) 6 Paul Trueman email. Any member may request a copy via email by contacting Al Sacco for his first quarter inside at South Weald on Sunday, 12 April Beth. 1260 Plain Bob Doubles 1 Ros Skipper 2 Al Sacco 3 Maria Jorysz 4 Mark Robbins 5 Ian Jorysz (C) 6 Dion Laycock

Steve Nash for his 500th as conductor at Fobbing, on Sunday, 19 April 60 Grandsire, 120 Huntspill, 120 New Bob, 120 Blaisdon,120 St Vedast, We do now have a facebook 120 Winchendon, 120 St Nicholas, 120 Huntley Place, 120 St Remigius, group at Southern District - 120 Plain Bob, 120 spliced St Martins/St Simons/Eynesbury/St Osmund EACR. If you are a facebook 1 Alwyn Brock 2 Cathryn Corns 3 Gordon Lucas user do ‘like’ the page. If not 4 David Belcham 5 Stephen Nash (C) 6 Andrew Martin follow this link : https://www. facebook.com/groups/eacr. Annual Essex Dinner - Early Bird deal now! southern/ Early Bird tickets are now available for the 61st Annual Essex Dinner on It is proving invaluable for Saturday 3rd October at the County Hotel priced at £33. sharing information, especially for appealing for additional To secure your place please complete and return the Booking Form ringers for weddings, funerals together with the appropriate amount of £17 deposit per person. and so forth. To become a Early Bird tickets are only available until Monday 4th May (AGM day) after Facebook member go to which the price will be £35pp. Facebook.com. Protect your privacy via the padlock icon A Booking Form and menu are attached. Andrew Brewster and ‘settings’.

- 3 - Lawrence Beal 1932 - 2015 Lawrence Beal was born in 1932 in Walthamstow. During the Second World War he lived with his grandparents at a pub in Roydon, and it was in Roydon tower that he was taught to ring by Ben Burton shortly after the war. He rang his first peal there in 1950 which is recorded on a peal board. Lawrence’s father Alfred died in 1944 in Burma and subsequently he and his brothers Michael and John, together with their mother, moved back to Walthamstow and then to Westcliff in the early 1950s, where Lawrence’s mother ran a guest house. Lawrence spent his working life as an engineer and was closely involved in the design of the cutting face for the Channel Tunnel boring machines. In his spare time he was the project manager for the restoration of the paddle steamer Kingswear Castle and undoubtedly the vessel would not be sailing today without his hard work over many years. Whilst on holiday in Newquay in 1958, Lawrence met Betty, and in 1960 they were married at St. Mary’s Prittlewell. They moved to in 1961. Lawrence, back right, with the Prittlewell 2013 striking competition team

Lawrence first appeared in the tower at St. Mary’s, Prittlewell in the mid 1950s when he became a member of the band. He was a regular ringer in the Southend area, although not always at Prittlewell. He joined the Thorpe Bay band in the 80s and 90s, and rang with the Rayleigh band until 2006 when he returned to Prittlewell. He rang a total of 18 peals ranging through Grandsire Doubles, Cambridge Major, Grandsire Caters and Bob Royal, and also many quarter peals. As well as his other interests, Lawrence also loved his garden. He was very generous with the produce from it; there were often bags of tomatoes, pears and medlars in the tower.

Lawrence was very particular about people’s ringing style, knowing The paddle steamer “Kingswear Castle” from experience that good bell handling is essential, and he would often quietly advise new ringers that in order to ring correctly they needed to “pull through”! We will miss his generosity and his thoughtful advice. David Sloman

Holy Trinity Rayleigh - Sunday, 8 March Holy Trinity Rayleigh - Sunday, 1 March 1296 Cambridge Surprise Minor 1260 Plain Bob Doubles 1 Gordon Lucas 1 Barbara Leigh 2 Peter Smith 2 Alan Gisby 3 Cathryn Corns 3 David Belcham 4 Lydia Roberts 4 Simon Smith 5 David Belcham 5 Cathryn Corns (C) 6 John Harpole (C) 6 Tony Lowe Dedicated to the memory of Lawrence Beal Rung for evensong and in memory of Lawrence Beal and Adrian Semken who died on Friday and was a local ringer for 60 years, many of them as a member of this band.

- 4 - Southern District Quarter Peal Day With-a-Difference Saturday 18th April dawned bright and breezy, and much anticipation, excitement and trepidation filled the air. Some people seemed more excited than others with one ringer messaging the following across cyberspace… 18 April at 08:10 feeling excited The waiting is nearly over. Who shall I be ringing with? What will I be ringing? Where will I be ringing? Can’t wait for the pot luck district quarter peal day to start! See you later at Ingrave Ten o’clock arrived and 19 ringers assembled inside Ingrave church eagerly awaiting the random draw to see who would ring with whom, and at which tower. But one person was missing: Maria Jorysz, who had decided to cycle from South Weald to Ingrave, had misjudged how long it would take. However she soon arrived, red-faced from exertion, to cheers and applause and so we began the draw. Isabelle Nash agreed to be my little helper by The ringers at the end of the day, making the draws, so to start with three towers outside St Nicholas, Ingrave were picked at random from the pot – these were… Tower 1 - South Weald Tower 2 - Ingrave Tower 3 - North Ockendon So, we now knew where we were going to ring, but who would ring where? The excitement mounted, silence filled the air! Isabelle then drew ringers’ names at random who were then allocated to the towers in order, starting with South Weald. All went well until we got to the fourth name drawn for South Weald, guess who that was? That’s right, it was Maria! She would now have to cycle all the way back from whence she’d come! Much merriment ensued. Isabelle picks the towers and the ringing bands Finally, all names were drawn and the three teams were formed. We were now all set to head off to our respective towers to ring our quarter peals. Luckily, Maria was able to grab a lift with others heading for South Weald thereby leaving her trusty steed at Ingrave for the time being. Methods and conductors were decided amongst the individual bands once we had reached the towers. Two out of the three morning quarters were successful, with the attempt at North Ockendon coming to an end just before half-way. However, the remaining time wasn’t wasted as it was turned into a practice. All the bands then proceeded to local pubs for a well earned lunch break, with the Ingrave band arriving even before the pub had opened - that’s eagerness for you! A few ringers even found time to shoot back to their local towers to ring for weddings – South Weald - a.m.; the band for Grandsire Tripes that’s dedication for you! Duly fed and watered, and appropriately refreshed, everyone returned to Ingrave at two o’clock in readiness for the afternoon draws where we did the whole thing all over again. The three towers randomly drawn for the afternoon bands were duly declared as… Tower 1 - Shenfield Tower 2 - Ingrave Tower 3 - South Weald Excitement and tension filled Ingrave church for the second time that day; you could hear the proverbial pin drop as everyone held their breath hoping to be drawn at a different tower to the morning attempts. Amazingly, only two ringers out of 20 were drawn to ring at the same tower as the morning one - David at Ingrave and Ray at South Weald. However, to enable Alwyn to ring at a 6-bell tower David was swapped with Alwyn allowing David to go

- 5 - to South Weald and for Alwyn to stay at Ingrave. It wasn’t until I ascended the tower at Ingrave for our afternoon quarter that I realised that I was actually now ringing in an all ladies band! Being drawn at Ingrave meant that we had no travelling time to the tower and so completed our quarter with over an hour to go before the other two bands returned to base. Half of us contemplated attempting another quarter but the others were feeling tired after two quarters and just wanted to get in first at the post-event cake-fest! As the other two bands staggered back to Ingrave it became apparent from the smiling faces that all three afternoon quarters had been successful. Shenfield – p.m.; now it’s Bob Doubles The end of the day was rounded off by drinking tea, kindly provided by Ronnie and Liz from the Ingrave ringers, and by eating cake, which ringers had been encouraged to bring with them. This resulted in far more cake than we could all eat - now that’s a surprise! Scoring five out of six quarter peals was a great achievement; Barbara managed her first on 8, and for some, these were the first quarters for a while. My thanks to everyone who took part and made the day such a success. Thanks also to the conductors for volunteering to take charge The ladies at Ingrave, p.m. ...oh and Andrew and to the four towers for allowing us to ring. Many thanks also to Ronnie and Liz for providing refreshments throughout and to the authorities at Ingrave for allowing us to use St. Nicholas’ as our base for the day. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves and the day seems to have been a success so I’m glad my mad idea paid off!!! Perhaps next time, if there is a next time, it will be easier to convince people to take part! Andrew

QUARTER PEAL DAY WITH A DIFFERENCE Ingrave Ingrave Shenfield South Weald South Weald 1260 Plain Bob 1260 Doubles 1260 Plain Bob 1260 Grandsire 1260 Plain Bob Doubles (11 Methods) Doubles Triples Triples (Grandsire, Reverse 1 Alwyn Brock , 1 Jean Paveley 1 Barbara Leigh 1 Raymond G Jones 2 Barbara Leigh Winchendon, 2 Marion Squier 2 Julia Jones 2 Hilary Donoghue 3 Ros Skipper St. Nicholas, 3 Maria Jorysz 3 Beth Johnson 3 Anne Porter 4 Penny Sloman Huntley, St. 4 John Harpole 4 Penny Sloman 4 Paul A Cammiade 5 Andrew Beech (C) Remigius, 5 Nigel Taylor (C) 5 Maria Jorysz 5 James Laken 6 Julia Jones St. Martin, St. 6 Mark Robbins 6 Mark Robbins 6 David Sloman Simon, Eynesbury, 7 John Harpole (C) 7 Stephen J Nash (C) St. Osmund, 8 Raymond G Jones 8 Michael J Warren Plain Bob) 1st on 8 - 1

1 Linda A Stewart 2 David Sloman 3 Paul A Cammiade 4 Nigel S D Taylor 5 Stephen J Nash (C) 6 James Laken - 6 - Adrian G Semken 31st July 1944 – 6th March 2015 Adrian died after a long fought battle with acute myeloid leukaemia. He was first officially diagnosed with the disease in February 2013. Despite being relatively old for chemotherapy he was considered fit enough to undergo the treatment. He was given three cycles of chemo which took almost six months to administer. He was pronounced to be in full remission and set about building up his strength for the remainder of the year. The main treatment was carried out at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the centre of London with blood care and other support being given at General Hospital. Prior to this Adrian had never spent a single night in hospital. In the early part of his 70th year he decided to arrange a big family party for his birthday in August 2014 and to say thank you for all the support he had whilst undergoing his treatment. In late September he went for one of his routine checks at Bart’s and was given the devastating news that the leukaemia had returned and that this time he wasn’t to be offered the chemo. After a brief attempt on a medical trial the disease took control and Adrian’s health declined to the point where he entered the Farleigh Hospice at the end of February knowing the end wasn’t far off. Adrian was born in Colchester, Essex. The family home was near the garrison initially, moving to a farm house near Ardleigh at the age of 11. Adrian responded to a request for bell ringers at Ardleigh and was taught to ring by Felix Erith. He was elected a member of the EACR (Essex Association of Change Ringers) on March 14th 1959. Bell ringing rapidly became his main hobby. Adrian rang his first peal at Ardleigh on 30/1/1960. He rang the 4th to Plain Bob Major, conducted by Frank Lufkin (who went on to ring over 100 peals with Adrian). Another early peal he remembers was at Great Horksley on 28/4/1960 which was rung by the light of a small paraffin lamp as the church didn’t have mains electricity. The first 6 bell peal that Adrian conducted was at Great Bromley on 02/06/1962 and the first 8 bell peal was at Ardleigh on 01/12/1963. Another peal that he is proud of is the first tower bell peal on mainland Europe which was rung on 29/08/2003 on the Willoughby Campanile in the base of the tower at Dordrect in Holland. Adrian rang peals on the full range of 4 bells right up to 12 bells. His last peal was at Swaffam Bulbeck on 04/10/2014. His last ringing was for Sunday service at when 6 family members, including two of his grandchildren, rang the front 6 bells to some call changes on 10. Adrian held many offices within the Essex Association and on the Central Council for Church Bell Ringers. Away from bell ringing Adrian was a keen gardener, engineer and sailor. When he left school he did several passages on a banana boat working for the Jamaica Banana Producer Steamship Company. When on shore leave for his sister’s wedding he found an advert for a water quality officer for the Essex River Authority. He took the post because it involved driving around in Landrovers and “messing about with water.” This was to become a long lasting employment until his slightly early retirement. He did manage to make his role more exotic by using power boats and helicopters to obtain sea water samples to map sewage outfall in the North Sea. After marrying Heather McArthur, I (Michael) was born in 1970 and the family settled into life in Coggeshall. Adrian became ringing master and was to be the driving force behind the Coggeshall ringers for the next 40 years. In 1972 Karen was born and the family was complete. Adrian had a passion for doing things properly. Many of us have felt the sharp end of Adrian’s tongue as he strived to improve the quality of some ringing. This was never a personal thing, he just wanted the band to do it properly! As well as the bell ringing Adrian was an active participant in church life. He used his technical skills to keep the ancient church heating system going and to help out with stage lighting or gutter clearing. He was a quiet worshiper who preferred the stillness of the 8:00 service to the busyness (bells and smells as he called it) of the main Sunday Eucharist. After attending the Hereford Ringing Course as a helper and seeing how oversubscribed it was Adrian became the driving force behind the establishment of the Essex Ringing Course held at Honywood school in Coggeshall. With a lot of help from many, many people the course is still going strong and this year celebrated its 25th anniversary. It is one of the things that he was most proud of. In the year 2000 he realised a plan to augment Coggeshall bells from 8 to 10. Adrian wanted to add a tenor and treble which meant re-ordering some of the middle bells. He was fortunate to pick up a couple of very good 2nd hand bells that helped with the finances and with a little bit of help from Hayward Mills and John Taylor & Co the new ten was born. In the little spare time he had, he studied for his Yatchmaster certificate and later became a qualified sports boat instructor. He was a part time instructor at the East Anglian Sea School. Since his passing there have been many quarters and peals dedicated to his name. After a low key cremation his service of celebration was attended by well over 200 people. If this is a measure of his achievements I think he would be, quite rightly, very proud. Michael Semken (Adrian’s son) Dr John Armstrong 1930 - 2015 John Armstrong was not a member of our district, but he lived in Shenfield and was well known to many Southern District ringers. John passed away on Friday 27th March aged 85 years. A true gentleman, John leaves behind him a legacy of ringing achievements over 60 years. He remained active right up to the end, with the news of his death coming as a great surprise to those who knew him. John had a series of small strokes, but his steely determination had meant that he got back into various towers soon after each one. However, the last stroke was fatal and he never left hospital after it, dying just a few days later. John Armstrong, far right, with ringers at Shenfield John was appointed to the ringing team at Westminster Abbey, being approved by the Dean and Chapter to ring for state occasions and other important events. As John was part of the Westminster Abbey family, his body lay in repose there on Tuesday 14th April, the night before his funeral. He was received at St Faith’s chapel at 5.30pm and as the coffin was conducted through the abbey, the band rang Grandsire Caters on handbells which created a very moving atmosphere. Before this, the master had taken John’s son Rob into the ringing chamber to show him the peal boards with John’s name. After the service, the family hosted a reception at The Feathers, a nearby hostelry, which was attended by a large group of these who had come to remember John. After 8am requiem mass the following morning, he travelled back to Brentwood and was cremated at Bentley crematorium. John was a Life Vice President of the EACR, a College Youth, and Tower Captain at Dagenham for over 50 years, after learning to ring there in 1944. Despite being such an eminent ringer, he was happy to help at local towers, such as St Mary’s Shenfield, for weddings and services, always giving gentle advice to those ringing alongside him. Nicola Stark/Beth Johnson

Report from the Essex Association Management Committee Saturday 7th February 2015 The main purpose of the Spring Committee meeting is to make preparations for the Annual General Meeting on the first Monday in May and to check the reports that go to make up the Annual report for the Association. Most of these were passed without any dissent and you can read them in your Annual Report. There was a long discussion about the relationship between district finance and association finance. At present the district treasurer collects all the membership fees and then deposits them with the Association Treasurer. He then has control over the money and not the District Treasurer and only he can authorise the spending of the funds. One of the districts had experienced some difficulty with finding money to pay deposits for halls to run fund raising activities like quiz nights to raise funds for the Bell Restoration Fund. They had suggested that they should be able to keep a portion of their membership fees to use for such activities or to finance recruitment and training of prospective ringers. This was discussed at some length. Our Treasurer expressed his satisfaction with the present arrangements. There was no decision to make any changes in the arrangements for the present but the district with the difficulty agreed to have a discussion with the Association Treasurer to help them make the present system work better for them. Richard Wilson, the Association Education Officer, reported on the future for recruitment and training of ringers. There was discussion about what the Association could do to encourage and facilitate activities. There was a need for advertising and publicity materials and for training opportunities especially to train people who teach ringing or would like to do so. All this would need financing and it has been suggested that the Bell Restoration Fund could split and part of it be used to provide funding. It was also suggested that there should be another recruitment campaign similar to the one before the millennium. John Harpole, the Association Master, suggested that a small committee including himself and Richard Wilson and one or two others that they would approach should be set up to identify needs, start programmes and share ideas. They would look at the ringing schools at , and Prittlewell and at the ITTS scheme and available hardware. The committee would report back to the Annual Meeting in May. This was agreed. It was agreed to pay £400 to help fund the Essex Team’s participation in the Ringing World Young Ringers Competition. Hilary Donoghue

- 8 - southern district outing to suffolk SOUTHERNju neDISTRICT 13th 2015 OUTING from nJUNEigel t ay13lTHor 2015, distr ict master

9.30-10.30 Stonham SS. Mary & TM133595 Aspal Lambert 10 23 -0-18 Eb 11.00-11.50 Eye SS. Peter & 8 19-1-9 D TM149738 Paul 12.10-13.10 Stradbroke All Saints 10 20-1-10 Eb TM232740 15.00-16.00 Wilby BMV 8 15-0-8 F# TM242721 16.20-17.05 Kettleburgh St. Andrew 6 7-1-11 A TM265606 17.30-18.15 Campsea Ashe St. John the 6 6-2-8 A TM329559 Baptist

Stonham Aspal, Wilby, and Campsea Ashe are confirmed. Wilby have asked if a band can be available to ring from 2.30 for a wedding (they have no band of their own), and I have agreed to this. This requires eight of us to have a fairly quick lunch. I am booking a pub locally: The Crown, Brundish , which comes highly recommended. Can you please indicate whether you are coming on the outing as soon as possible, and if you would like a pub lunch so I can give the landlord some idea of numbers. You can contact either Alison Nash or myself.

Please try and be available for what I hope will be a very pleasant day. If you require a lift, please ask, or if you do not know of someone with seats available, contact me. Home Tel. 01268783792; Mob. 07825810847; [email protected]

- 9 - Essex Association of Change Ringers Southern District

MINUTES Meeting at Hutton Saturday 21st March 2015

The meeting started with a minute silence in respect of members of the District and Association who have died in the last few weeks – Lawrence Beal (Prittlewell), Adrian Semken (Coggeshall) and Sue Rothera (Chelmsford Cathedral). 1. Welcome and Thanks The Master, Nigel Taylor, welcomed all present and invited everyone to print their name in the attendance book. There were 32 members present, excluding visitors – Robin Winkworth (Woking, Surrey), Donald Heath from Romford and Simon Davies (Cumberland) who did not stay to the meeting. The Master thanked the Lay Reader Chris Thomas, for taking the service and Nick Rayner for playing the organ. He also thanked the Hutton ringers for the excellent tea and the use of the bells. The service touch was Stedman Doubles rung by Andrew Beech, Paul Cammiade, Hilary Donoghue, Stephen Nash and Nigel Taylor, 2. Minutes of Previous Meeting The Minutes of the Annual District Meeting held at Prittlewell on 17th January 2015 were printed in the February 2015 Newsletter (No. 137), emailed to those on the District’s mailing list and copies available at this meeting. There being no amendments they were signed as a true copy. 3. Matters Arising •• A one day course of Plain Bob Triples was held at Stanford-le-Hope in the morning and Fobbing in the afternoon, mainly for the Brentwood ringers, which was very productive. Thank you to all the helpers and students who attended. A very good day was had by all. Hilary Donoghue stated that the Essex Ringing Course was over subscribed again this year and thanked those people who had come forward as helpers. She was still a little short of helpers for the Saturday. If anyone could help on the Saturday, or any other day of the course, she would be most grateful. A helper does not need to be an experienced ringer as helpers are needed for rounds and call changes and Plain Hunt; if you can ring these without needing help yourself you can be a helper. 4. Correspondence An email had been received from Vicki Chapman, Association Secretary, concerning the AGM arrangements. This had been circulated to the District’s email lists. On May Day Bank Holiday, Monday 4th May, general ringing is available at the Chelmsford Cathedral from 9.15am. The service commences at 10.30am followed by the meeting. Afternoon ringing is in the South East District. Tower details for the afternoon ringing and tea arrangements can be obtained from the Association Secretary by 1st May at a price of £3.50; please enclose a stamped addressed envelope if you wish your tickets to be posted to you. Tea tickets will be available on the day at a price of £4.00 – so book early! A second email had been received from Vicki Chapman concerning the appointment of a new Association Chaplain. Revd. Ian Jorysz has received a promotion and is leaving Essex for the post of Senior Chaplain to the Bishop of Manchester and will be leaving Essex in late May. We wish both him and Maria well on their new journey. A further email was received from Vicki Chapman concerning the vacancy of a Central Council Representative. Although this was received too late for the formal nomination process at the February Management Meeting it has been agreed to add this item to the AGM Agenda. 5. Election of New Members (a) New Ringing Members were elected as follows: Gail Farrow (Bentley Common) proposed by Ron Brown, seconded by John Cousins. Bernard Brooks (Downham) proposed by Roger Dorking, seconded by Paul Cammiade. Patricia Marshall (Downham) proposed by Paul Cammiade, seconded by Roger Dorking. Stephen Talbot (Rayleigh) proposed by Simon Smith, seconded by Lydia Roberts. (b) Friends of the Association - There were no friends elected. (c) Non Resident Members - No Non Resident Members were elected. - 10 - 6. Training Please let either Stephen Nash, District Educaton Officer, or the District Officers know if you would like training of any sort. 7. District Outing Nigel Taylor, District Master, is organising this year’s District Outing to Suffolk on Saturday 13th June. Six towers have been approached Stonham Aspal, Eye, Stradbroke, Wilby, Kettleburgh and Campsea Ashe. Further details to follow when times have been confirmed. 8. District Programme The District Master wished to hold a further 10 bell practice at Canewdon possibly in about June/July time before the holidays start as the District Practice in February was so well attended. The Essex Course is being held from Thursday 9th April until Saturday 11th April based at Honywood School in Coggeshall as mentioned above. The Quarter Peal Day With-a-Difference is organised for Saturday 18th April. Only 7 people so far had put their names forward to take part. The day starts at 10am at Ingrave. Five towers have been booked around the Ingrave area namely Navestock, Shenfield, North Ockendon, South Weald and Ingrave. The layout of the day will be -arrive at Ingrave for a 10am draw, drive to tower to ringing quarter peal, lunch, back to Ingrave for second draw of the day, drive to tower and ring second quarter of the day and then back to Ingrave for tea and cake. If you are taking part it would be great if you brought a cake with you. The Method Striking Competition this year is at Navestock on 16th May. The draw is at 5pm prompt. There will be NO Learners Practice in April due to Easter. The next Learners Practice will be at South Ockendon on Saturday 2nd May, 10am-12noon. The Annual General Meeting of the Essex Association of Change Ringers is at Chelmsford Cathedral on Monday 4th May. Details above. The next Surprise Practice at South Weald is on Thursday 7th May. 9. Apologies for Absence Apologies were received from 19 members. A record of apologies can be found in the Attendance Book. 10. Any Other business Mark Robbins, District Treasurer, mentioned he was still to receive Association Subscriptions from the new members elected at this meeting also from , Canewdon, Leigh, , and Thorpe Bay. He appreciated some people from these towers may have paid but most have not. Maria Jorysz advised the meeting that South Weald are holding an outing on Saturday 9th May to East Kent. All are welcome. Hilary Donoghue’s February Management Meeting Report is attached to these Minutes and will be published in the next newsletter. The collection raised - £85.68 Raffle - £52.00 Tea was donated - £40.00 There was further ringing after the meeting.

- 11 - ESSEX ASSOCIATION OF CHANGE RINGERS

61st ANNUAL DINNER 2015 – SATURDAY 3rd OCTOBER 2015 BOOKING FORM – By 20th September 2015 latest!

Please fill in all details below, indicating any specific seating requests and return no later than SUNDAY 20th SEPTEMBER 2015. We will endeavour to facilitate any seating requests, but please note that these cannot be guaranteed and it will not be possible to alter the seating plan after this date. Please indicate below if there are any other people you would like to sit with. Tables will be for 8 or 10 people. Name(s) Starter Main Dessert

As you wish to see it on

the place setting ar

cream

-

asted hazelnuts, fine asted beans, fine hazelnuts,

Grilled Grilled shaved Fillet,mackerel Fennel salad, & Aioli orange Melon,sorbet, apple green ginger syrup [v] Warm smoked salad duck, of ro slow tomatoes roast Marinated fillet stir salmon, of fried vegetables Minted casserole, sautéed lamb potatoes, gravy wine red rich mushroomWildtarragon and tortellini, cream, watercress parmesan[v] Red pe pear, poached wine sorbet (df)(gf) Seasonal fruit crumble, fresh under crust, an real oatmeal custard Steamed treacle sponge pudding,clotted sauce,caramel cream ice

I/we would also like to sit with

Name

Address

Telephone Email

Number of tickets required: at £33(EB)/£35 Total enclosed: £

Dietary requirements1

Dinner tickets will be sent to you by post. Please enclose a SAE (DL envelope required). Tickets are priced at £33 (Early Bird option if ordered by 4 May) or £35 each after the 4th May. Alternatively secure your place now by paying a deposit of £17pp and pay the balance by 20th September. Please send your completed form, SAE and payment (cheques payable to EACR) to Andrew Brewster, 16 The Priory, Writtle, Essex CM1 3JE.

Discounted Room Rates for Dinner Night: Double: £95, Single: £85 (including breakfast) £20 non- refundable deposit on booking. Please book accommodation directly with the County Hotel (01245 455700) and inform them that you are attending the Essex Dinner, to secure the special rate.

1 Special diets can be arranged on request